— पाच हजार छियानबे —
I'm coming off a pretty busy weekend, which I kind of expect to be the case every weekend for the rest of the month, and thus the rest of the year. Hell, this whole month is busy. At least I have this year's calendars all done.
Speaking of which, why don't I start with that?
I took Uncle David and Mary Ann's calendar to the post office on Saturday morning, the only one of the calendars I had to mail myself this year—because I had Christopher's, Nikki's and Becca's shipped directly to them (to Wallace, Idaho; Spokane; and Lake Stevens, respectively). This was because Costco removed all of their in-store photo centers, and I could no longer just pick them up in order to save shipping costs as I have done in the past. This jacked the price per calendar up, from about $22 in the past to, this year, about $29 each with shipping. That was less per calendar for the eight I made for family on Dad's side of the family, as those were all the same—those actually averaged out to about $24 each, which is not so bad comparatively. But I had separate ones made for Shobhit; Uncle David and Mary Ann; the same version for Christopher, Nikki and Becca but separate orders to mail separately; and even one for Ivan this year. Those were each $29.
But, Uncle David and Mary Ann's? The final cost of that one was truly nuts. Now, I already knew it would be much more expensive than normal, because of
the temporary suspension of delivery to Australia (among a few other countries) by the USPS for certain mail classes, including the one I had used last year. The thing that gets to me about this is how they cite COVID challenges as the reason for this, even though the pandemic was in a far worse state
last December and I was able to mail them their calendar just fine. I think this has a lot to do with that Louis DeJoy bastard.
Anyway. I knew there was still an international shipping option—it would just be more expensive. Exactly
how much more expensive was practically impossible to discern online, except to say that I was pretty sure UPS would not be a viable option; I found a quote online that it would likely cost me a hundred bucks!
The best I could find online regarding USPS was that I could use "Priority Mail Express International," which
is listed as "starting at" $45.95. So, like a moron, I thought of that as a steep price increase, but I would just have to make peace with it. After all, mailing to Australia was always far more expensive than anything else I ever shipped—it may have included shipping three other calendars domestically, but my total cost last year to mail calendars was about $63.
Well, I still got a shock when I got to the post office, shortly after they opened on Saturday morning—it was 9:30, and Shobhit graciously drove me there so I wouldn't have to walk in the rain. It was not $46 to mail to Australia. The total came to . . . wait for it . . . $79.01. Jesus fuck! For a calendar that cost me $29 to have made to begin with! In other words, I spent a total of $108 on this gift alone.
Now, let's be clear about something. Had I realized this would be the cost before I made the calendar, I would never have done it. Uncle David and Mary Ann would just have to go without a calendar for this year. But, I had already ordered it. I didn't want to just throw it away. So, I just ate the cost—I had just gotten over $3,000 extra on Friday's paycheck anyway, cashing out PTO; I always use that to cover Christmas shopping. But, although I seriously hope regular shipping to Australia has resumed by next year, if this shit is still going on then, I will
not send a calendar to them again for Christmas 2022. (Or, if we stick with the plan to visit Australia again in 2023, maybe I'll just bring it to them, and then can just get it a couple of months late.) I need to set a reminder to myself about this.
Lastly, I had brought the calendar in the same box it had been mailed to me in, but I didn't re-seal it because I did not know whether I would have to buy a special box for Priority Mail International. In the past, they have had their own tape and taped a box for me in a case like this. This time, they insisted I had to buy a new roll of masking tape from their retail wall and tape it myself. So that added another $3.99 to the cost. That last four bucks annoyed me more than anything. I know that woman could have just taped it for me. What bullshit. So really, in order to create, package and mail this year's calendar to Adelaide, I really spent a total of $112. For a calendar valued at $29.
I told you it was nuts. But whatever. It's Christmas! The season for giving!
— पाच हजार छियानबे —
Okay, I'll back up briefly to Friday evening now. Two things occurred that evening that qualify for Social Review points, for three different people. First was with Ivan; we finally managed to coordinate my taking him out for dessert as a thank-you for taking care of the cats over Thanksgiving (and, by extension, over Halloween when Shobhit and I were in Las Vegas). He chose Hot Cakes, so we walked over there at about 6:30, which I said was the latest I could do it. In the end, that meant he had dessert before he had his dinner, but he never complained or even remarked on that.
We weren't there for very long, but he seemed genuinely to appreciate the gesture. He loves that place; the last time we went was only a couple of months ago, after our Argosy Locks Cruise in October. This time we both got a Chocolate Peanut Butter Lava Cake, which comes with a scoop of ice cream and is delicious. Shobhit was working a later shift and asked me to get something for him. I was expecting Alexia to come over later (hence the restriction on how late I could take Ivan out for dessert) to watch the season six premiere of
The Expanse, and so, instead of getting a full order of a hot cake to go for Shobhit like I did last time, I purchased a 2-pack of take-and-bake jars of lava cakes so I could provide one to both Shobhit and Alexia once she came over. Last time Shobhit just kept his scoop of ice cream in the freezer for several weeks anyway, so this really worked out.
As is common, once we got up to leave, Ivan announced he was going to go back his own way and would see me later. Usually this means he's taking a walk, but it was pretty rainy so I was a little bit dumbfounded this time—I had brought an umbrella, but Ivan hadn't. Well, I walked home cutting through Cal Anderson Park, and Ivan actually came in the door not five minutes after I did. He had gone to a Mexican place to pick up a grilled cactus burrito for his dinner.
After that, after a little bit of hemming and hawing over text because she'd had a long day and was getting home from work kind of late, I finally convinced Alexia still to come by to watch
The Expanse with us, since we were fine waiting another half hour or so for her to heat up and eat her dinner. And by the time she was over, within just a few minutes the 20 minutes or so for the take-and-bake lava cakes to bake was done, and I was able to present both her and Shobhit with their own small desserts. She didn't stay much longer than the 47 minutes it took the episode to play, but it was still fun to have her over to watch. She was more excited about this coming season, its last and with only six episodes this time, than Shobhit and me put together.
— पाच हजार छियानबे —
— पाच हजार छियानबे —
There's much more to tell about Saturday, though, so I'll get back to that. First, Shobhit and I got up quite early
to go out for breakfast at a bunch café at Pike Place Market (specifically 1st and Olive) that Shobhit has long wanted to try, because they commonly have a long line out the door. But, he wanted to get there when they opened at 7 a.m., for two reasons: first, there would be no long line to contend with; and second, it would be early enough that he wouldn't have to pay for meter parking, which starts charging at 8 a.m.
I had told him I would go that early depending on when I woke up; I didn't want to commit fully and actually set my alarm. But, I still woke up shortly after 5 a.m., and although on another day I would have slept in another hour or two, I went ahead and got up so that I would be ready to go by 7:00. We actually got to the restaurant shortly after it opened, and it worked out fine. Only a few other people were already in there, and we sat next to the front door, which at first I thought would be cold, but soon I appreciated because it meant good air circulation.
Shobhit had an omelet and I had the French toast. I only had one bite of the omelet before Shobhit poured hot sauce on it, but it was exceptional. The French toast was fantastic. The juice drink I had, from their "fresh juice bar," was the best thing I had: a blend of fresh orange, pineapple and banana. It was fucking delicious.
We drove home after finishing breakfast and then a quick visit to the French bakery at Pike Place, but were only back home long enough for me to wrap Uncle David and Mary Ann's calendar in gift wrap, put it back in the re-prepared box, and address it. Shobhit drove me to the post office and waited in the car. I really thought there might be a huge line and was shocked when there wasn't, surely because I was there only about half an hour after they opened—I bet anything it will be a different story next weekend, which was why I wanted to get this done now. One other thing about the fortune I spent mailing that calendar: at least I know for certain it will get to them by Christmas. In years past, it was weeks for it to travel to Adelaide, but they said this would take 3-5 business days. They should have it by the end of the week.
After I was through at the post office surprisingly quickly, though, Shobhit decided he wanted to check out the new bagel shop on 15th Avenue on Capitol Hill that Ivan had discovered and told us about. For reasons I can't really discern, except maybe that we didn't have any regular bread left at home, Shobhit got a
lot: he purchased a "baker's dozen," and, following their advice to keep them preserved longer than a day, he cut them all in half, wrapped them in saran wrap, and froze most of them. I kept one out on the counter to save for the bagel sandwich I wanted to make and bring for lunch when Tracy came to watch the 1961 original
West Side Story in our condo theater at noon.
— पाच हजार छियानबे —
So that was the other major thing on Saturday: I spent virtually the rest of the day with Tracy, actually longer than I expected. First was the movie; she didn't actually arrive until 12:30, and we opted to eat our lunches in the kitchen first, so we didn't start the movie until 1:00. And this movie, beloved for decades but long acknowledged to be problematic in its casting of white characters in Puerto Rican roles (and even putting bronzer on the Latino actors)—in the end, Tracy wasn't all that impressed. She had wanted to see the new version, we even made plans to see it this coming Friday instead of this weekend when it actually opened, because she wanted to see the original first, but now she doesn't even want to do that. She declared
West Side Story "kind of lame," and by last night she was texting me that she didn't really want to see the new one anymore. I really wish she had done that earlier so I could have gone to see it yesterday, but whatever. Now I'm just going to leave work a little early and see the 4:30 showing this afternoon. I don't have to wait until Friday now, so I'm not going to.
I think
the controversy about Ansel Elgort might also have influenced Tracy's change of heart about the new one, even though it's getting excellent reviews (
86 on MetaCritic). Anyone deliberately avoiding the movie for this reason has perfectly valid reasons to do so; I'm choosing to see it anyway—it's tricky, given how collaborative movie making is, and it's hard to fault absolutely everyone else for one piece of shit in the cast. I wish someone else were in his part, but the movie is done. The worst thing about it, though, is how it was made with clear intentions of correcting the problematic elements of the original—but now this one is problematic for entirely different reasons, but problematic in its own right nonetheless.
Anyway, Tracy spent some time reading up on this while we watched the movie. Then, because I needed to look for a gift for the "Secret Santa" gift exchange we're doing at work on Thursday, and Tracy had also suggested we go out for dinner and/or find "something Christmasy" to do, we went out to make the rounds.
Since we were to be out anyway, I asked her to drive me to the Central Library first, and she obliged; I just returned the
West Side Story DVD and the book Shobhit just finished (the third in the
Golden Compass series). Then, since it was just getting dark, she was evidently up for going to check out the "Candy Cane Lane" display of Christmas lights in Ravenna, so we drove there next. We easily found parking, quite nearby—presumably because it was so much earlier in the month than when Shobhit and I went last year; I just double checked and, I had forgotten about this; last year Shobhit and I actually went on Christmas Eve, and we had to park a few blocks away.
Technically you can drive through, but it's much better and easier to get out and walk the short street, which is curved and both starts and ends on Ravenna Blvd, just about a block away from each other. I had been curious to see if they mix it up much, and alas, they really don't—there were some differences, but most of it was the same as last year. I won't be too eager to see it again next year for a third year in a row; this might be one of the things best done every, say, three years or so. Still, Tracy had never seen it, and I did get a lot of good new pictures; 30 shots total—
exactly the same as last year. (The photos aren't exactly the same, however.)
I'm now already up to nine albums for the season this year, by the way. With both WildLanterns and Christmas itself left to go, that means I will absolutely break the record in 2021 and get it up to at least 11. I actually hope I don't have as many next year. It's already starting to feel a bit much; I have no time to caption any of these photos! Although I did caption all the Candy Cane Lane ones, because I could make them all virtually the same and just copy and paste through them all.
All three of the photos in this post are from Candy Cane Lane on Saturday.
Ravenna is just north of the U District, and since we were close, I asked if Tracy liked Thai food and she said yes, so I suggested Little Thai, the favorite that Scott, Noah and I all used to frequent when the office was still up on Roosevelt. To my total surprise, the lady who seated us completely recognized me: "Long time no see!" she said as she gave us our menus. I then had the pad thai with tofu that I love there so much. Tracy also ordered a side of fried tofu for us to share. It was double the amount of food I really should have had for dinner but it sure was tasty.
After that, Tracy very graciously drove me to Michaels in Interbay—as it happens, the very same complex where Shobhit was working at Total Wine & More. The guy I'm shopping for as Secret Santa is our new Produce Operations Manager, and all I know about him is details from the email introducing him a couple of months ago: he has a passion for produce; he has three wiener dogs named Nala, Timon and Pumbaa (all characters from
The Lion King). At first I thought it would be great to find a tree ornament in the shape of a potato, which I thought would be fun and tied to his position in Produce. Tracy suggested Michaels might have something like that. Alas, their selection was quite limited, although they did have an ornament shaped like a doughnut that I really liked. I had no idea if this Tyler guy would, though.
We walked across the parking lot to try Home Goods. No dice there either.
We thought, fuck it, and went a little south to the nearby Whole Foods, where Tracy needed to do some quick price comparisons for work anyway. This still worked out for me, as I was able to get a couple of the cheeses they have on sale for the "12 Days of Cheeses" promotion they do in December. Last year they did one cheese at a time. They had several on sale this time, but most had animal rennet—I bought the two that didn’t, plus some gorgonzola for the dinner I had planned for Sunday.
Finally, we went over to the neighboring Petco, thinking I might find something for Tyler's wiener dogs. And finally, I did: a three-pack of dog chews, one for each of his dogs! When I later wrapped the thing, which cost ten bucks, I addressed it as
To: Nala, Timon and Pumbaa; From: Santa. Hopefully he gets a kick out of that. And guess what the chews are in the shape of? Icing covered doughnuts! Ha!
By that time, Shobhit was set to get off work in half an hour. Tracy still drove me back home at that time.
— पाच हजार छियानबे —
Yesterday was less busy, involved no socializing, but I still filled up the time. I'm now making real headway on my perennial "Year in Ten Minutes" video, which I worked on a lot in the morning and early afternoon. I hung out with Shobhit for a bit, reading in the living room while he watched
Friends reruns on cable, until he had to leave for his shift starting at 11:15.
I had another bagel sandwich for lunch, then made chai and took that in an insulated tumbler with some Biscoff cookies to the movie I went to see: I took Light Rail to 45th in the U District, to go to the AMC Seattle 10 to see the new Aaron Sorkin film
Being the Ricardos, which I very much enjoyed.
That was at 3:45; I was back home by 6:45, giving me exactly an hour to write the review before Shobhit got off work, although it still took him another 20 minutes or so to get home, during which I made dinner. I baked the frozen waffle fries we still had in the refrigerator, and topped it with gorgonzola cheese, to approximate the "potatoes gorgonzola" we used to love getting at Palomino in City Center back when it was still open. I also made tomato soup, which I had purchased on a quick walk to PCC before the movie, and which paired with the fries nicely.
We ate while watching the season finale of
Succession, which was excellent, offering just the right amount of unexpected twist without it being excessive, all the while still giving us exactly what we want out of that show. God knows where they go from here, but as I said to Shobhit, that show's writers have proven themselves more than capable time and time again. I'm just sad this season is already over, and who knows when it will come back again. Hopefully not another two full years, as was the necessitated span between seasons two and three due to the pandemic (which is never acknowledged on the show, which is also fine).
We watched one episode of
Maude on Prime Video and then it was time for bed.
— पाच हजार छियानबे —
[posted 12:29 pm]
